The AFC South will look a little bit different next season after the Tennessee Titans hired Robert Saleh as their new head coach.
Previously, Saleh coached the Jets (2021-24) and coordinated the 49ers’ defense (2017-20, 2025), and he even served as the Jaguars’ linebackers coach under Gus Bradley (2014-2016). Saleh has now hired Bradley to be his defensive coordinator in Tennessee; his offensive coordinator will be longtime NFL offensive coordinator and former Giants coach Brian Daboll.
Neither of
those hires has been made official quite yet — but we want to hear from you, Jaguars fans!
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What do you think of the Titans’ new coaching staff?
In this writer’s opinion, Saleh was a good-not-great hire. He’s deserving of another shot to be an NFL head coach — especially given how much players seem to love playing for him — but I’m surprised the opportunity came this quickly, considering how disastrous his tenure was in New York. I know it was far from the best situation, and he never had competent quarterback play, but still… it was not great, Bob! And I think that while Saleh deserves credit for getting his guys to play hard (how did the Niners’ defense not completely collapse this season once Nick Bosa and Fred Warner went on injured reserve?!), I don’t think he’s any sort of scheme lord who devises brilliant game plans week in and week out. You could say the same things about Bradley, who could never contain Trevor Lawrence when he served as defensive coordinator for the Colts (2022-24). I could see Tennessee’s defense looking like a less-talented version of Houston’s physical yet basic defense. As for Daboll, again, I think it’s a good-not-great hire. Cam Ward should put up strong numbers in Daboll’s offense but he really needs someone to develop areas of his game that aren’t just “let me dice up the defense out of shotgun from a spread formation.” That’s why I thought Mike McCarthy would’ve been a sneaky good hire for the Titans.
Overall, this coaching staff is significantly stronger than the previous one, and all four AFC South teams should now be competitive. Saleh/Bradley/Daboll will provide a fresh level of professionalism to the building. I just don’t think that it’s quite a needle-moving group. If any of those coaches are still with the Titans in 2030, I think the main reason would be that Ward is just that good.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
